Breaking Bad Analysis

Ascending to the highest echelon of prominence on Netflix in 2009, Breaking Bad, produced by Vince Gilligan, engages its viewers with spine-chilling excitement throughout the dark metamorphosis of Dr. Walter H. White. Living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Walter White holds a PhD in chemistry; however, he works as an overqualified and underappreciated high school chemistry teacher. In the first episode of Breaking Bad, “Pilot”, White defines chemistry as a change in “growth, decay, [and] transformation” in front of students that could not care less about learning chemistry at the high school level. Further in the episode, the physician diagnosis White with inoperable stage III lung cancer. Upon diagnosing White, the physician sentences him to
However, in Breaking Bad, the story’s sympathetic portrayal of Walter White uses the audience’s knowledge of his tragic situation in the beginning of the series to cast a positive and sympathetic light onto the negative and corrupt nature of White’s crimes. In essence, the initial reaction a viewer may have towards White’s methamphetamine operation may be one of a forgiving nature that is hesitant to label White as a felon when they consider his pure motivations. Considering this, the viewer may find themselves asking a critical, existential question of what extent they would go to in order to provide for the well-being of their own family if they were in a similar situation. They may also be caught in the gravity of the situation when considering the good of their own family, as is White, or the evil done to society through the processing of illegal substances. In the midst of this existential crisis, many viewers of the Breaking Bad show support of Walter White in his criminal activity because at the heart of his transformation is the symbolic representation of the average underappreciated man who’s merely trying to provide for the family at whatever means necessary. This deeper existential level, displays how the human moral compass can fall short towards the moral and social benchmark while trying to accomplish a goal, thus, being
Trying to recognize and identify the exact pivotal moment that marks White’s transition from a protagonist into an “antagonist” becomes problematic. Vince Gilligan’s portrayal of the protagonist, Walter White, takes on the role of being an “antagonist,” which in any narrative is the character or force that perceives as an opposing force to the protagonist. While White gets corrupted by unchecked greed, Gilligan throws in phrases like “I am doing this for my family,”“I only needed enough for his family,” and “I just want what is best for our family” to remind the audience of White’s initial moral reasoning behind his illegal crimes. While none of his plans go as he intended, an antagonistic alter ego arises out of Walter White as his goals begin derailing from his morals, and his morals begin to